Xbox One July Update Out Now, Adds FastStart And Groups

06 July 2018

Microsoft has launched its Rewards app for Xbox One, which was previously in testing for certain Xbox Insiders, and it's available for you to check and see how many rewards you've accumulated, what you can spend the points on, and a way for you to join the program if you've not yet done so. You'll only need to download a portion of the game before you can start playing, and this is done by identifying the files you need, and getting those first.

Groups have now been added to Pins, which give you the chance to create multiple content collections from anything stored in My Games & Apps. This includes such features as FastStart for games (SOME games, not all), Games and Apps grouping, Search Option feature additions, Mixer Share Controller improvements, and console broadcasting and stability improvements. The feature is only available on select Xbox Game Pass titles on the Xbox Store and is powered by machine learning. You can group together whatever you'd like, assign custom names, reorganize your groups, and assign them to Home.

According to Microsoft, games that utilize the feature will half the amount of time it takes from when a download begins to the moment you're actually able to play it.

Downloading a game from online storefronts like Steam or the Xbox Live Marketplace is the modern equivalent of waiting for your modem to connect to the internet circa 1998: They're both long, arduous processes that we all know can happen much faster than they do. Moreover, these groups will sync to your Microsoft account, so they'll show up on other consoles that you own.

If you'd like to search for content of any sort, press the Y button in the dashboard. We've started you off with a Group that should look very familiar - your Pins!

The update is mostly concerned with making it easier for users to find content, as well as improving Mixer.

Additionally, Mixer streamers can now go full-screen with their webcam when broadcasting.